Our Curriculum for 2013-2014

Curriculum 2013-2014

Today I am linking up to the Not Back to School Blog Hop, hosted by iHomeschool Network.  I thought I would share what we will be up to this year.  We start this month (actually yesterday), we start early (according to the traditional school year) because we like to take lots of breaks and this year will be no exception with needing a break in January for our new baby.

Bible

Jesus Storybook Bible - We will be going through this Children’s bible this year.  This will include a variety of activities, art and bible memorization.  I added a link to the Jesus Storybook Bible website and there is a scope and sequence there that I am using which also includes the bible memorization we will be doing.

Math
Compare Bears Maths - Book 1 - I love this book and I was so glad that I found it (There are 2 books this year we will start with book 1).  It is written by Barbara Hewitt and was developed to encourage young children to think and talk about early mathematical concepts.  I’m not really interested in workbook/textbook math at this point.  This is all hands on and done is a playful manner.  Hannah and Ethan both love numbers and games.  They enjoy counting and working out math problems and I am looking forward to see how they like what I have chosen.  You can download your own copy for free at the link.

Montessori at Home(Math Section) - Same as above, this is very hands on approach to learning mathematical concepts.  Their own quote says it well "By providing them with a logical sequence of hands-on activities, Montessori materials help children establish an understanding of numbers and a confidence with mathematics that follows them into their school years".  

Language Arts

All About ReadingPre-Level 1- This is a continuation of last year.  We have already finished the uppercase letters and this year we will move on to the last 2 sections which covers the lowercase letters and the sounds of the letters.  This is geared towards Ethan.  He is my letter and number guy and loves all things in print.  

Literature
Sonlight (Fiction,Fairy Takes, and Fun for Little Learners) - This is a fantastic collection of stories and books and I cannot begin to tell you how excited the kids are to read through the books we have for this year. 

Writing
Handwriting Without Tears – This is also something we started last year and were continuing with this year.  We are about a third the way through our book now.  Hannah and Ethan both enjoy their “school books” and ask for this all the time.  Last year, Hannah has really started showing interest in forming letters and this is giving her a good start.  Ethan likes to do everything Hannah is doing and really has no interest in writing or even coloring most of the time. 

Science

PEEP and the Big WideWorld Explorer's Guide -  My kids (like most their age) are natural explorers.  They love learning about the world around them and figuring out the whys, the hows, and the whats.  This year we will explore our way through shadows, water, plants, sounds, colors, and ramps.  The best part is that my kids already LOVE the kids show “Peep and the Big Wild World” and I love how it is incorporated in the program.  You can download this for free at the link.

And that’s what I have planned so far!